Don't get caught in the clutter trap

Easy to fall into, not as hard to get out as you think

People tend to collect and buy more stuff than they have room to store.Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on goods and services they don't need, according to economicpolicyjournal.com.You know it is time to evaluate your belongings when you stumble across the size 3 dress you're never going to wear again, ...

Stop getting junk mailThe average American household receives an estimated 850 pieces of junk mail every year — enough, as we all know, to cover our kitchen tables several times ov...

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Stop getting junk mail

The average American household receives an estimated 850 pieces of junk mail every year — enough, as we all know, to cover our kitchen tables several times over. It's no coincidence that paper makes up one-quarter of all landfill waste, or that the junk mail industry's environmental footprint is equivalent to the tailpipe pollution from 9 million cars.

Control the mail

To limit what credit offers, catalogs, magazine offers and other mail offers, go to the Direct Marketing Association's website at dmachoice.org. You can request to start or stop receiving mail from individual companies within each category, as well as register a name on the deceased do not contact list or the do not contact for caregivers list. There is no cost if you register online.

If you'd rather send your information by mail, please download the registration form, print it and send it along with a check for $1 to the Direct Marketing Association and follow the instructions included on form.

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People tend to collect and buy more stuff than they have room to store.

Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on goods and services they don't need, according to economicpolicyjournal.com.

You know it is time to evaluate your belongings when you stumble across the size 3 dress you're never going to wear again, the roller blades in the hall closet or the canoe balanced on the garage rafters. It's time to give it away, throw it out or sell it at a yard sale.

If your idea of cleaning up is "stashing things out of sight, then stop," said Tony Stefano, owner and operator of Better Housekeeping, a cleaning service in Stroudsburg.

It is simply a matter of getting rid of everything you don't want and don't use in order to achieve an organized space, Stefano said.

"People become overwhelmed when they look around the house and take in all the clutter that has accumulated over time," he said.

He tells clients to pick a room and start in one corner.

Stay in the corner and make a pile of stuff to throw out and another pile of stuff you want to keep.

"If you have things that don't belong in that room, put them in a box until you can sort through it," Stefano said.

It is important to just keep working on the one corner you started, he said.

"Clean everything in the corner. Wipe off everything and vacuum and put back what you want to keep."

If you feel like working longer, Stefano said to pick another specific area and do the same thing.

"If you break the job down into smaller blocks of time, you will realize the job is much harder mentally than physically," Stefano said.

Most of the time people tend to procrastinate about cleaning out because they become overwhelmed when faced with an entire room of clutter and chaos," he said.

If working in just one corner of a room while the rest of the room is in chaos is difficult for the person cleaning, Stefano suggested taking one room and totally empty everything out of the room first.

"Take everything out and put it in an area where it won't be in the way," he said.

First vacuum the floor and wipe off the woodwork and clean the windows. If the floor isn't carpeted then wash the floor, too, he said.

Next, Stefano said to clean off and wipe down everything you want to put back in the room.

"Take everything else and get rid of it. Sell it, give it away or smash it, but don't put it back into the clean room," he said.

"I tell people they will spend less time actually doing the cleaning than they spend mentally agonizing over doing it," Mimi Tanner, author and a how-to-declutter blogger based in New York City.

In her book "Declutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately," she tells readers the effect of decluttering will open door after door in your personal and career life.

"The good news is that it doesn't matter how bad your own clutter is — you can conquer the clutter on your own terms, in your own time. It is not as difficult as it seems," she said.

Just like Stefano, she said to just begin. "Getting started is half the battle," Tanner said.

In her book, she explains what she considers the steps to getting rid of 'stuff' and keeping your house tidy.

"Before you can clean, you need to do some organizing, but, before you can get organized, you need to get rid of clutter," she said.

You might be able to box up and store your clutter, but that's not organizing — you need to purge items that no longer serve you, she said.

"Organizing your life can do a lot for you in the long run to reduce stress and give you more time to enjoy as you wish," Tanner said.